Criminal laws are supposed to give persons regulated by the law sufficient notice of what conduct, exactly, is prohibited. Criminal laws, as interpreted by courts, are also supposed to provide clear standards for mens rea (that is, the level of intent the Government must prove at trial). With regard to physicians and their prescribing practices, the federal Controlled Substances Act does neither. Or, as my Lightfoot colleagues Brandon Essig, Jeff Doss and I put it in a recent article for Law 360: With the Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Enmon, physicians continue to face two critical questions in the uncertain case law under the federal Controlled Substances Act. First, what conduct…

For businesses and their officers, directors and employees, the grand jury is an increasingly visible complement to the threat of civil litigation and administrative sanction. (We have discussed the grand jury’s role and power here and here). Under the auspices of the Alabama State Bar’s White-Collar Crime Committee, Lightfoot hosted a one-hour CLE video on Representing Witnesses Before The Grand Jury. Representing Witnesses Before the Grand Jury from LFW on Vimeo. This program offers practical advice for representing witnesses subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury or provide documents. Listen to insights into the decision to testify (or not), preparing your client to provide testimony, securing immunity and special considerations in representing…